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Wärtsilä has signed a joint venture agreement with the Russian company Transmashholding (TMH) to manufacture modern and multipurpose diesel engines in Russia. The engines, including a new and technically advanced version of the Wärtsilä 20 engine, will be used in shunter locomotives and for various marine and power applications.

Arctic Cat Inc. has entered into an agreement to transition its snowmobile engine manufacturing from Suzuki Motor Corp. The company will begin manufacturing some of its own snowmobile engines in St. Cloud, MN, after the 2014 model year.

NASA awarded Aurora Flight Sciences a contract to incorporate aspirated compressor technology into high-altitude gas turbine engines. Aspiration is a technique to increase the performance of a turbine engine by sucking air into slots in the compressor blades.

Aerojet and NEC Corp. signed an agreement to jointly supply Hayabusa-derived ion propulsion systems for the U.S. and Japanese aerospace markets. These ion propulsion systems provide significant advantages for geosynchronous satellites and deep-space missions through fuel efficiencies more than 10 times higher than those of conventional propulsion systems.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center awarded Lockheed Martin a $44 million follow-on production contract for the Target Sight System (TSS), the fire-control system for the U.S. Marine Corps' AH-1Z Cobra. The agreement authorizes production of 18 additional units.

The U.S. Air Force awarded Environmental Tectonics Corp.'s Training Services Group a contract to provide a suite of altitude chambers. The contract, valued at more than $38 million, calls for delivery of a suite of four altitude chambers to the 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH, by June 2013.

DARPA awarded Grandis Inc. $8.6 million for the second phase of a research project developing spin-transfer torque random access memory (STT-RAM) chips. STT-RAM is a next-generation, solid-state memory technology that is dense, fast, nonvolatile, and radiation-hard, making it suited for defense applications.

Raytheon will develop an airborne launcher designed to employ radio frequency-guided TOW (tube-launched, optically tracked, wireless-guided) missiles. The new TOW airborne launcher will be compatible with past, present, and future versions of the TOW missile.

Consumers accustomed to flashy images on everything from iPods to HDTVs won’t settle for grainy or boring graphics on vehicle displays. That is prompting companies in various fields to roll out software tools that help designers write graphical software.

Telematics brings more functions and information into vehicles, but there is concern that this input will have a negative impact on safety. Companies throughout the telematics industry are looking at ways to reduce driver distraction with good user interfaces.

Building an integrated network that allows cars to communicate with each other and with infrastructure is a huge challenge. Communicating with roadside stations, improving motorcycle safety, and creating human/machine interfaces that reduce stress are just a few of the disparate technical issues that must be addressed.

Cell phone technology is rapidly making its way into vehicles, giving both product developers and auto owners a way to leverage the rapid changes in consumer electronics. OEMs and Tier 1s are developing strategies that let them run apps approved for automotive use, though developers are controlling access to approved software.

With new equipment and a facility makeover in the rearview mirror, an occupant safety systems provider is prototyping, testing, and validating seatbelts, inflatable restraints, and steering wheels faster than ever.